English public under obligations by his many translations
from the Russian.- He had preceded me in 1880
to Sergiopol, where, arriving early in April, he was
detained for three weeks by the impassable state of the
roads. Not till the 6th of that month did the water1
fowl begin to arrive in the lagoons' on the left bank of
the Ayaguz, and opposite the town the ice of the river
did not move till the 14th. He was then preparing to
start for the Russian frontier town of Bakhta, opposite
Chuguchak, when he- was hindered by a telegram
summoning him to Vierny. The distance to Bakhta
is 174 miles, with six picket stations to Urdjarsk, a small
village, and afterwards four other stations, with a postroad
all the way, and not turning into a caravan track
at Urdjarsk, as represented in General Walker’s map.
This last-mentioned station, on the Urdjar river, is
probably the best starting-point for Lake Ala-Kul, the
third largest lake in Central Asia.
The Ala-Kul, or variegated lake, is thought to have
been joined at one time to the Balkhash, but is now
an entirely distinct basin without effluent, and receives
the drainage of the circumjacent Barlik, Ala-Tau, and
Tarbagatai mountains.*
Dr. Finsch has given the best account I have met
* It consists properly of three lakes. The large eastern part contains
bitter s a ltw a te r ; the western, called Sassyk-Kul, fresh water; whilst
the central part of the basin is called Uyali. On the Chinese maps the
whole lake bears the name Alak-tugul-nor (Lake of the Variegated Ox).
The normal altitude of A la-K u l is 1,200 feet, but according to Kirghese
traditions the water of the lake rises at times, and then- subsides. Not
many years ago it was possible for caravans to pass along the isthmus
of Uzunai and Naryn-Uziak, but now both these strips of land dividing
the lakes are covered in the middle with water. The lake is supplied
bv at least four considerable rivers, their mouths being transformed
into a series of small reed-grown lakes. In spring the water submerges
the reeds ; these rot in summer and emit a putrid smell, whence the
name “ Sassyk,” or stinking, given to the western lake.
with of the fauna on the shores of this lake, and of the
district through which he passed. Along the postroad
in autumn I saw but few birds or living creatures
of any kind, but his more practised, eye discerned the
Red-footed and two other Falcons, Great Buzzards, and
Harriers. Wheat-ears {Saxícola Oenanthe) were to be
seen everywhere on the stone-covered hill-tops, whilst
in the thickets of Spircea the Bluethroats {Cyanecula
Sue etc a) were building their nests. The cry of the
Quail was heard on every side, as well as the note of
the Cuckoo, whilst high in the air fluttered the Chimney
Swallows {Hirundo Rustica), the Skylark {Alauda
Arvensis), Pallas’s Short-toed Lark {A. Pispolettd),
the Eastern Shore Lark (Otocorys Brandti), and,
most common, though most remarkable of all, the
Black Lark {A. Yeltoniensis), whose uniform velvet
black plumage, pale yellow beak, and large size make
it both remarkable and interesting. It loves to sit on
stones by the roadside, or perch on the bushes, with
drooping wings and tail erect, singing there, as well
as in the air, its melodious song. When in flight it
appears even more remarkable than when sitting, for
in this respect it differs from other larks. Clapping
together the points of its wings, and whipping about,
now regularly and then in an irregular manner, its
flight may be likened to that of a bat. To these may
bp added in the Tarbagatai, the Demoiselle Crane
{Grus Vtrgo), the Masked Wagtail {MotaciUa Per-
sonata), and the Black Stork (1Ciconia Nigra).
From a bare knoll on the banks of the lake near
Ak-tube, nbthing can be seen in the direction of the
great Ala-Kul but forests of reeds, which shelter abundance
of Bird-life.*
* In the shallow ponds and pools are w ading Avocets [Recurvirostra